• Trusting Your Own Voice

    “In every work of genius we recognize our own rejected thoughts; they come back to us with a certain alienated majesty.”  – Ralph Waldo Emerson   Years ago, I had the opportunity to teach a philosophy class.  While my tenure as a philosophy professor only ran one semester, to date, the class remains amongst my favorite teaching memories.  I had taken a few philosophy courses during a short stint as a graduate student in political science.  The truth is my knowledge base was admittedly shy of expert.  I spent the summer reading a big, fat introduction to philosophy book, digging out old class notes and outlining my lectures.  Nervous to face my audience, I fervently hoped I could talk long enough to limit time for discussion or questions. Week after long…

  • Words from a Wanderer

    March 2017 Book of the Month Words from a Wanderer, version two, is a timeless and beautiful collection of #anote2self affirmations. This book of gems was first published in 2013 as a collection of notes and love poems. For the three year anniversary, WFAW has been redesigned, re-edited and rereleased. It is now a book of 62 #anote2self daily affirmations that readers can carry with them easily. This edition can serve as a resource for daily meditation, mantra guidance, and encouragement to its reader. Author, Alexandra Elle, created this book to shed light on the fact that indeed not all who wander are lost; some are simply still finding their way. www.alexelle.com

  • The Glass Castle

    February 2017 Book of the Month Jeannette Walls grew up with parents whose ideals and stubborn nonconformity were both their curse and their salvation. Rex and Rose Mary Walls had four children. In the beginning, they lived like nomads, moving among Southwest desert towns, camping in the mountains. Rex was a charismatic, brilliant man who, when sober, captured his children’s imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and above all, how to embrace life fearlessly. Rose Mary, who painted and wrote and couldn’t stand the responsibility of providing for her family, called herself an “excitement addict.” Cooking a meal that would be consumed in fifteen minutes had no appeal when she could make a painting that might last forever. Later, when the money ran out, or the romance of the wandering life…

  • Guided Meditation

      Rather than offer a book club pick this month, we thought we’d suggest students check out a new website:  www.bigwavesstrongboat.com. Social worker and TTSM friend, Mary Waldon, has put together an outstanding resource for individuals looking for a “taste” of meditation.  One of the quandaries of integrating meditation into daily routine is finding the time to sit.  This collection of guided meditation allows for an active mindful practice.  And, seriously, why not use your shower time to develop mindful awareness?  Besides it’s FREE, it’s ONLINE, it’s FRIENDLY and EASY to use.  Honestly, Mary may have eradicated all valid excuses for putting off the exploration of self.  Enjoy!

  • Sacred Contracts

    January 2017 Book of the Month New York Times bestselling author and medical intuitive Caroline Myss has found that when people don’t understand their purpose in life the result can be depression, anxiety, fatigue, and eventually physical illness—in short, a spiritual malaise of epidemic proportions. Myss’s experience of working with people led her to develop an insightful and ingenious process for deciphering your own Sacred Contract—or higher purpose—using a new theory of archetypes that builds on the works of Jung, Plato, and many other contemporary thinkers. Read More

  • The Invention of Wings

    December 2016 Book of the Month It’s winter break! Thought we’d pick an old favorite novel of ours to dive into… “The Invention of Wings, a powerful and sweeping historical novel by Sue Monk Kidd, begins, fittingly, with an image of flight: Hetty “Handful”, who has grown up as a slave in early nineteenth century Charleston, recalls the night her mother told her that her ancestors in Africa could fly over trees and clouds. That day, Handful’s mother, Charlotte, gave her daughter the gift of hope— the possibility that someday she might regain her wings and fly to freedom.  Throughout Kidd’s exquisitely written story, Handful struggles, sometimes with quiet dissidence, sometimes with open rebellion, to cultivate a belief in the invincibility of her spirit and in the sacred truth that…

  • Habits of the Heart

    November 2016 Book of the Month First published in 1985, Habits of the Heart continues to be one of the most discussed interpretations of modern American society, a quest for a democratic community that draws on our diverse civic and religious traditions. In a new preface the authors relate the arguments of the book both to the current realities of American society and to the growing debate about the country’s future. With this new edition one of the most influential books of recent times takes on a new immediacy.

  • Amusing Ourselves to Death

    October 2016 Book of the Month “What happens when media and politics become forms of entertainment? In the season of Trump and Hillary, Neil Postman’s essential guide to the modern media is more relevant than ever. Originally published in 1985, Neil Postman’s groundbreaking polemic about the corrosive effects of television on our politics and public discourse has been hailed as a twenty-first-century book published in the twentieth century. Now, with television joined by more sophisticated electronic media—from the Internet to cell phones to DVDs—it has taken on even greater significance. Amusing Ourselves to Deathis a prophetic look at what happens when politics, journalism, education, and even religion become subject to the demands of  entertainment. It is also a blueprint for regaining control of our media, so that they can serve…

  • Brain On Fire

    September 2016 Book of the Month You’re just getting back to your studies, and you may find it hard to pick up yet another book, but I promise this one will have you completely captivated from the first sentence. You may even finish it in a weekend! “An award-winning memoir and instant New York Times bestseller that goes far beyond its riveting medical mystery, Brain on Fire is the powerful account of one woman’s struggle to recapture her identity. When twenty-four-year-old Susannah Cahalan woke up alone in a hospital room, strapped to her bed and unable to move or speak, she had no memory of how she’d gotten there. Days earlier, she had been on the threshold of a new, adult life: at the beginning of her first serious relationship…

  • Think on These Things

    August 2016 Book of the Month You know when someone gives you a book and insists on you reading it and then it sits on your book shelf for weeks, months or even years? Well… this is one of those books on my shelf. I looked at it yesterday as I was weeding out the books I would take to my local used book store, and I did what I often like to do, which is to open to a random page and read the first sentence I find. Here’s what it said: “The moment you criticize, you are not in relationship, you already have a barrier between yourself and them; but if you merely observe, then you will have a direct relationship with people and with things. If you can…